Everyone was stunned.

“If I have a child too, will you give up Emily and marry me?”

I stared into Lucas’s eyes, desperate for an answer.

Sandra scoffed.

“You’ve been pregnant so many times and never kept a child. The doctor already said your health isn’t good. How could you possibly have a baby now?”

She had always looked down on me, but ever since Emily came along, her attitude worsened.

The first thing she did when she entered was examine Emily from head to toe.

When she saw that Emily’s belly was fine, she smiled in satisfaction.

To please her—my supposed future mother-in-law—I had done everything she wanted, given her every gift she asked for, yet never once did she say anything kind to me.

And Lucas? He never told her the truth—that the reason I didn’t give birth was because he didn’t want me to.

I looked at Lucas, mockery in my eyes.

The first time I was pregnant, Lucas had been kidnapped.

I spent every cent I had trying to gather the ransom, even begged my father. That nearly destroyed our relationship. He disowned me.

In the end, I went alone to deliver the money to an abandoned warehouse.

Lucas had been held for ten days and had developed a high fever.

There were no vehicles around.

I carried him on my back, step by step, out of that wilderness.

After getting him to the hospital, I passed out from exhaustion.

When I woke up, I learned I’d lost our first child.

Lucas sat by my bed, crying like a child.

After that, I got pregnant a few more times.

Each time, Lucas would hold me gently and ask me to terminate.

“Zoe, wait until the company stabilizes. I want to give our child a better life.”

And I believed him, again and again.

But when things finally calmed down and I was ready to try again, it was too late.

I took endless medications, visited countless hospitals, even knelt in prayer in front of priests—

But nothing worked.

The pain of losing each child was a wound carved into my soul, and it never stopped hurting.

My hand drifted to my belly.

No matter what, I had to keep this child.

Lucas’s voice cut through my thoughts.

“Zoe, I know how much you want a child. Emily’s baby can be yours too, so you don’t need to worry. And if Emily helps you at the company, it’s still for the good of the child’s future.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Lucas, you want her to manage the company? Do you want her to ruin it?”

“Last time you asked her to handle a business meeting, she overslept and arrived late. That delay cost us ten million!”

Lucas was silent. He knew exactly how incompetent Emily was.

I couldn’t let him drag the company down for her.

I pulled out my phone and called a senior executive.

I had equal authority with Lucas, and he knew that if I refused, it would be nearly impossible to install Emily in my place.

He rushed over and knocked the phone from my hand.

“Zoe! If you don’t want Emily to take over, fine! But do you have to tell everyone? How will she ever face anyone again?”

His outburst stunned me. Even now, all he cared about was protecting Emily’s image.

I bent down to pick up my phone, but he was faster.

He stepped on it—hard—until the screen went black.

Then he turned to me, faced dark, and suddenly pulled me into an embrace.

Before I could resist, he dragged me into the bedroom and locked the door behind me.

“Calm down. I’ll let you out tomorrow.”

I banged on the door and shouted until I had no strength left.

Eventually, I collapsed onto the bed.

Then, without warning, the door opened.

Emily stood there with a smile, holding out a bottle of pills.

“Zoe, do you love Lucas that much? Why not let go?”

“Do you recognize this bottle?” she asked.

I glanced at it—it was the medicine I’d been taking for years to treat infertility.

Emily laughed so hard she cried.

“That’s not infertility medicine. It’s birth control.”

“You’ve taken it countless times over the years. Your body’s been damaged for a long time—it’s no wonder it’s hard for you to conceive now.”

She sighed, feigning sympathy.

“You’re so pitiful. You were tricked for ten years and still think a baby will win Lucas’s heart. But think about it—if Lucas ever intended to marry you, why didn’t he protect your child in the first place?”

Her words hit me like an explosion.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

Tears blurred my vision.

How could I expect sincerity from Lucas?

What I mistook for love was just my unwillingness to let go.

Emily left with a smug smile.

I collapsed onto the bed, staring at the fallen bottle of pills, my heart aching.

Once, to help me get pregnant, Lucas pressed me onto the bed for days, claiming his passion would bring results.

When he heard about a doctor who specialized in infertility, he traveled across the country just to get these very pills for me.

“Zoe, as long as you keep taking the medicine, we’ll definitely have another baby,” he said.

But that man had been a lie from the beginning.

Tears slipped down my cheeks as exhaustion finally dragged me into sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, the door was open.

I rushed to the company—only to find my office completely rearranged.

The assistant who had been with me for three years looked at me nervously.

“Zoe... President Evans appointed Emily as the new general manager this morning. He said you won’t be coming back, and told us to throw out everything in here.”

Fueled by anger, I stormed into Lucas’s office—only to hear him speak as if it were all perfectly normal.

“Zoe, I know you’re upset. But Emily promised she’ll work hard to learn. And you’re still here—you can teach her.”

I clenched my fists. “Lucas, I told you—this company is mine too! Emily isn’t qualified to take my place!”

I decided then and there to rally the other executives and have her removed.

But Lucas grabbed my arm.

I thought, just for a second, that he was going to apologize.

Instead, he handed me a cardboard box.

“You’re clearly in a bad mood, so I won’t argue. If you want to stay, you can be Emily’s secretary. For now, help me bring this to her office.”

Disgusted, I yanked away and tossed the box.

It hits the ground, scattering its contents everywhere.

I stared down at what had spilled out, my voice shaking.

“What is this...?”

Lucas sounded annoyed.

“Diapers. Baby clothes. Emily said she wants to pick them out today. You’ve got experience, so just help her choose some.”

His words stabbed me like knives.

Back when I was full of hope and preparing baby supplies, he had never once helped.

Now I understood—he never planned to have a child with me. He only ever cared about his child.

“Lucas! You’re a monster!”

I shouted, unable to hold back any longer.

When I slapped him across the face with all my strength, a red mark bloomed instantly.

“Ah! Lucas!”

Wrapped in nothing but a towel, Emily came rushing over.

I turned toward where she had emerged—and froze.

There was a bathroom in Lucas’s office.

That was new.

Looking around now, the entire room bore traces of her.

A framed photo of the two of them sat on the desk.

A pink mug.

Her clothes were draped over the sofa.

What had they been doing here every day?!

My knees gave out, and my vision blurred.

Lucas shot me a furious glare, then followed Emily’s instructions to get ice for his swollen face.

After he left, Emily casually dried her hair with a smirk.

A bracelet on her wrist caught my eye—it looked familiar.

I had one too, though mine was much cheaper.

Noticing my stare, she lifted her arm and smiled proudly.

“Lucas bought this for me a long time ago. He couldn’t even afford food then, but he still got it for my birthday because I wanted it.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.

When I was pregnant and starving, rationing one bowl of food for three days to save money, Lucas had been spending everything to please Emily.

She kept flaunting the latest designer clothes and handbags lying around the office—presents from him.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I laughed coldly.

“Emily, what’s so impressive about being a shameless woman? Everything you’re using was bought with the money I earned. And don’t forget—I can take it all back whenever I want.”

Emily’s face darkened. She hadn’t expected me to say that.

A dangerous glint flashed in her eyes as she lunged toward me.

She shoved me hard, and I fell before I could react.

My only thought as I hit the floor was to protect my belly.

A second before I hit the ground, Lucas rushed over and caught me.

He gently laid me on the sofa, a flicker of long-lost concern in his eyes.

I used to love resting against his broad chest, but now it reeked of Emily’s perfume.

Lucas turned and scolded her.

“Emily! Why did you push Zoe?”

“I didn’t push her! Zoe fell on purpose just to blame me!”

Emily pointed at me, lips pouted, feigning injustice.

It was her favorite expression.

She’d used it so many times—spilling coffee during meetings, mixing up important documents.

Whenever I tried to hold her accountable, all she had to do was make that face and say a few words in defense, and Lucas would take her side.

“There are surveillance cameras in the office,” I reminded calmly.

“So what? You insulted me first! If you hadn’t said such awful things, I wouldn’t have gotten angry and pushed you!”

At that moment, Emily no longer hid her intentions.

Tears welled in her stubborn eyes.

Lucas glanced at my pale, shocked face and frowned.

“Emily, Zoe has done so much for you. You don’t need to be so immature.”

But even in reprimanding her, his tone was soft, without a trace of anger.

I couldn’t help comparing it to how he had treated me just yesterday.

I shook my head and smiled bitterly—how foolish I had been.

Emily, visibly hurt, rushed to Lucas and buried her face in his neck.

“Lucas, your words really hurt me… even my stomach feels off now.”

Panic flashed in Lucas’s eyes as he nervously touched her belly.

“Don’t scare me. Let’s go to the hospital, okay?”

Emily suddenly giggled and kissed him.

“I lied! I just didn’t want to hear you talk to me like that.”

Her teasing made Lucas melt with affection.

They kissed passionately, completely ignoring me as I sat beside them.

When Lucas’s hand slid around Emily’s waist, I stood and quietly left.

As I walked out the door, it felt like my heart had been hollowed out.

I couldn’t even tell what I was feeling anymore.

The first thing I did was buy a new phone.

When I inserted the SIM card, a new message popped up—it was from my father.

“I’ve heard everything. Forget that small company. I’ll give you something better. When you get here, you can do whatever you want with them. Your father will always back you.”

Reading those words, all the pain I’d bottled up these past days finally spilled over.

Right there on the street, I broke down and cried.

After that, I went home and never returned to the company.

Lucas had already taken Emily away to live elsewhere and never came back.

It gave me the chance to quietly pack up everything I needed.

“Zoe, I apologize on Emily’s behalf for what happened that day. Don’t be mad at her…”

Maybe he thought I had calmed down with time.

Lucas sent the message himself, hoping to make peace.

He and I had never gone this long without speaking.

In the past, even when I was on business trips, he would flood my phone with messages—saying he missed me, asking where I landed, begging to pick me up.

Now I realized… he wasn’t checking on me anymore.

He was afraid I’d come back and uncover everything.

I looked at the message once, then blocked all of his contact information.

All I wanted was to wait quietly for my departure.

On my final day, just two hours before my flight, my phone rang.

Lucas had somehow gotten a new number.

His voice was frantic.

“Zoe, something happened at the company! You have to come—now!”

Just that one sentence made me panic.

Without thinking, I rushed straight there.

The building was surrounded by people.

That’s when I found out: while meeting with a client, Emily got angry when someone offered her a bottle of wine—and threw it at him.

The man she hit was Zachary Bennett, a well-known company director.

He suffered a concussion, demanded an explanation, and threatened to press charges.

“Zoe, thank god you’re here! Can you—”

Lucas’s eyes lit up with desperate hope when he saw me.

He grabbed my arm tightly, his warmth pressing against me.

But his next words chilled me to the bone.

I bit my lower lip, trying to suppress the bitterness rising in my throat.

“Lucas… are you really asking me to take the blame for Emily?”